Trump’s team says minerals deal with Ukraine is a signal to Russia

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the minerals agreement signed with Ukraine is a full-fledged economic partnership that will allow President Donald Trump to negotiate with Russia on a stronger footing. His statement was cited by Reuters.

Bessent believes that the agreement will show “the Russian leadership that there is no daylight between the Ukrainian and American people, between our goals,” Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business Network.

“The American people don’t make any money if Ukrainians don’t prosper. So now we are fully aligned in terms of economics. And again, I think this is a strong signal to the Russian leadership, and it gives President Trump the ability to now negotiate with Russia on an even stronger basis,” the US Treasury Secretary said.

According to the Trump administration official, “It’s not just about rare earth metals; it’s also about infrastructure and energy.”

“So there’s an opportunity for both sides to get real benefits,” Bessent added.

Earlier, the media revealed the main details of the agreement signed on April 30 in Washington. In particular, it refers to 57 types of minerals and US military assistance to Ukraine.

The parameters of the signed agreement correspond to most of the key points made public by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal the day before.

US President Donald Trump said that the deal on subsoil would give the US more than it spent on Ukraine.